Everything You Are - Orm Marius-Ocean Master
by FantasyandHistory
Summary: Book 1 of the 'Everything I Need' Trilogy. An Aquaman AU where Atlanna and Tom have a little girl, Aurelia, Orvax is alive and is current King of Atlantis, and Orm is a prince who heads the Atlantean technological design. It will be a race to save Atlantis as much as a race to save the surface world. (Full Summary Inside!)
1. Welcome!

_Hello and welcome! So as you can probably tell, I'm a little (okay, a lot!) obsessed with this movie and this whole world - what an exciting story to be part of, so here's another idea I came up with :) I hope you enjoy! As excited as I am to explore Orm's relationship to the surface and humans, I also want to explore the whole of Atlantis more, so here we are!_

 _Here is a full summary of the story:_

 **Book 1 of the 'Everything I Need' Trilogy**

 **An Aquaman AU where Atlanna and Tom have a little girl, Aurelia, Orvax is alive and is current King of Atlantis, and Orm is a prince who heads the Atlantean technological design. It will be a race to save Atlantis as much as a race to save the surface world.**

 **Based on 2018's 'Aquaman' and Skylar Grey's song 'Everything You Are' which played during the movie's credits!**

 _I do not own these characters, I'm just borrowing them because I love this movie and have many more stories to tell! ;) I only own my own characters and any changes I've made/ideas I've added! Thank you and I hope you enjoy! :)_

* * *

Welcome!

Here are a few things that I've changed for this AU, outlined to (hopefully) avoid confusion!

-Atlanna and Tom have a little girl, a future Queen of Atlantis, Aurelia Curry.

-Aurelia and Orm are not related, but both in line for the throne.

-Orvax is alive and is the current ruler.

-Arthur Curry will feature in this story, but as Aurelia's cousin and not as Aquaman.

-It makes sense that hydrokinesis is an ability of all water-dwellers, so I'm making it a more widespread power among Atlanteans (plus it's super cool!) But Mera is exceptionally good with it.

-Orm is behind Atlantis's technological advancements.

-Aurelia and Orm are younger in this story than in the movie, Aurelia mid-twenties and Orm late-twenties.

-Since I plan on making this a trilogy, I'm going to expand the movie storyline and add parts and break up the quest to find the Trident of Atlan to stretch it out over the course of three books.

 _Hope that helped set everything clear as we begin the story! I think that's all the major changes, but of course there will be smaller ones too. I'll add to this list if I think of something else! Thanks, and I sincerely hope you enjoy! :)_ _Let me know what you think!_

 _Also, if you've stumbled upon this story first, I am writing a completely separate Orm story called 'Lost City, Lost Kingdom, Lost Soul' which acts as a sequel to 'Aquaman' and gives Orm some love (that he very much needs!) Please check it out if you're interested, thanks!_


	2. Prologue - Destiny

Prologue - Destiny

 _Jules Verne once wrote, 'Put two ships in the open sea, without wind or tide, and they will come together." In other words, if two things that are meant for each other, are destined to meet, then they will eventually meet. This was how my parents met. Unknown to them, this was their destiny._

 _My father was a lighthouse keeper, Tom Curry, and my mother was a queen, Queen Atlanna of Atlantis. She had fled an arranged marriage to the king, washed up on the shore during a vicious storm, and my father found her and nursed her back to health. Talk about romantic._

 _Their meeting got off to a bit of a shaky start, with my mother being injured and eating one of Dad's goldfish, and then threatening him and trident-spearing his TV set. But once the initial shock wore away, they instantly charmed one another._

 _They fell deeply and rapidly in love. With him, my mother found a loving marriage so different from the one she had fought to escape and prevent. And for him, my father found the love of his life._

 _I was the result, the first of my kind, half-human, half-Atlantean. My mother said that I was proof that our people could coexist peacefully and happily, and that one day I might unite our two worlds, bring them together as they were meant to be, land and sea, as one. That was quite the destiny set for baby me._

 _And for a short time, we were a happy family, just the three of us, Tom, Atlanna, and Aurelia._

 _But Atlantis's memory is long, and I was the product of a love that was never supposed to be. The king refused to let my mother go, despite having already moved on, taking a different wife and having a son, but he wanted to punish my mother for her desertion, and when he found out about my father and I he wanted to punish her for us as well. He eventually tracked her down, sending armed guards, nearly killing my father and I in the process. My mother sensed the danger to us her presence brought, and made the ultimate sacrifice: she left us to go back home, in order to save us. Before she left, she reminded us that she was doing this to protect us, and promised that she would return one day, that one day we would all be a family again. I was three years old._

 _Dad and I are still waiting._

* * *

 _Being half-Atlantean granted me with some exciting abilities. Atlaneans were super-strong, super agile, had highly-durable bodies equipped with thick skin and bones and adapted for high pressure and extreme cold. We also had hydrokinesis, and the ability to see and breathe under water. Thanks to my mom, I had gained all these abilities, as well as one unique to myself: the ability to communicate with sea life. This made its first big impression on a field trip when I was nine._

 _Our class had gone to the aquarium to learn about the evolution of life under the sea. A bunch of classes had gone as one big group for a day-trip, including Arthur's class. Arthur was my dad's only nephew, my cousin, but he was basically my older brother. And when you're different than everyone else - half-Atlantean different - you have to deal with a lot of pushing and shoving and insults and teasing, so Arthur helped me through it all._

 _A couple of boys in Arthur's grade were pounding on the glass of the large, floor-to-ceiling tank we were viewing, trying to catch the fish's attention. Even from across the room where I stood examining some starfish, I could sense the fish's distress._

 _"Stop!" I cried, pushing past the boys and standing between them and the glass. "They don't like that! You're hurting them!" I then turned to the fish who were hovering close to the glass, their eyes thankful. "Hi fishies," I said, waving to them. "Hi! It's okay, I won't let them hurt you. My name's Aurelia, what's yours?"_

 _I heard snickering behind me. "Hey, check it out: fish-freak is talking to her friends." This was closely followed by me being shoved into the glass by the two boys._

 _"Stop it! Let me go!" I tried to struggle, but it was no use. They shoved me to the ground, laughing as the contents of my bag spilled all over the floor._

 _I think that Arthur's superpower is sensing when I'm in trouble, for suddenly, my big cousin was hurrying over. "Leave her alone!"_

 _Before he could intervene, however, there was a crashing_ thud! _which grabbed everyone in the room's attention. They were all staring at the tank behind me in horror._

 _Getting to my feet and turning to face the tank, I saw a shark was smashing its nose into the glass. The next time it did so, it caused a huge crack in the thick glass. People gasped and screamed and huddled at the other end of the room._

 _"Kids, get away from there!" one of the teachers yelled, but we were too frozen, some in fear, me in awe._

 _I placed my hand against the glass, concentrating to create sound-waves towards the shark._

We won't let them hurt you either, _he told me, and all the other creatures swarmed around and joined him, backing me up from behind the glass._

 _Everyone - my classmates, teachers, and the aquarium staff - all stood and stared at me, Aurelia Curry, who had just summoned an army of sea creatures._

 _That was just the beginning. And the next time I used that trick, it wouldn't be at an aquarium, but in the middle of a war between all of land and sea._

 **I just love that little smirk young Arthur gives when all the sea creatures are surrounded him at the aquarium in the movie ;) So, there's the first little bit, pretty similar to the movie so far, but I will diverge soon. I hope you enjoyed, thank you so much for reading! (We'll meet up with adult Aurelia in the next chapter!)**


	3. Chapter One - By Birthright

Chapter One - By Birthright

"I always know where to find you." Aurelia knew her father's actions spoke to just how much he loved and missed her mother. They do say actions speak louder than words, and Tom's actions screamed of his love for Atlanna. Every morning at sunrise he would walk down to the very dock where they had parted all those years ago, and stand on the edge, looking out over the water as the sun rose, waiting for his beloved to return to him. It sounded like something out of a fairy tale, but then again, Aurelia's whole life sounded like something out of one. That's what came with being a half-breed child of a mythological marvel of a land.

Tom had repeated this ritual every day since the day Atlanna left, never missing one.

At the sound of his daughter's voice, Tom spun around from where he had been retreating back to the lighthouse, a huge smile on his face. He chuckled. "Old habits."

Father and daughter embraced each other in a tight hug.

Tom put an arm around his daughter as they began to head to the house. "Come on, I'll make you breakfast."

* * *

"Would you like me to have them put that in a sippy cup for you?" Tom joked. He had taken Aurelia out for drinks at the local bar which they often appeared at.

Aurelia snorted as she gulped the last of her beer. She slammed the now empty mug down onto the counter as purposefully as her father had done with his. "Haha, you're hilarious." She licked the foam off her lips. "How is it that I can breathe under water but you can still drink faster than I can?"

"Maybe that's my superpower." Tom puffed out his chest proudly.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not a superhero, Dad."

"Well, you've got the powers, and the name: Aquawoman."

She laughed. "It's silly."

"Now all you need is a suit."

"I'm not a hero." She was firm.

"To some people you are. Your mother and I always knew you were special."

"Yeah, well, she's gone now. She's not coming back."

"You don't know that." Tom's firm, unwavering belief in Atlanna returning to them and unwillingness to believe it wasn't true was heart-breaking in itself.

Aurelia had a difficult time understanding it, but maybe that was because she had never been in love like her parents were. "She would have come back by now." Atlanna would never have abandoned her family.

"I'm proud of you, but be careful out there, doing what you do."

"I am, don't worry, Dad."

"I can't lose you too."

"Hey, you-" Interrupted, Aurelia and Tom turned to see a gang of men standing behind them. "Are you that fish-girl from the TV?" one asked Aurelia.

Tom turned back to his second beer. "Oh, great."

Aurelia slid off the bar stool. "It's 'fish-woman', actually. What do you want?"

"I'll tell you what we want-" The man pulled out his cell phone. "Can we get a quick picture? Please?"

Aurelia just stared back; Tom chuckled. "Really?" she said.

"Yeah, you're our hero. It's so exciting to have a hero representing our little town!" The men were giddy with excitement.

Aurelia sighed. "Fine, one picture. And I don't want to see this anywhere online, yeah? Cause if I do, I know where to find you."

The men got their picture, Aurelia going back to join her father, taking a gulp of beer.

"You're their hero," Tom chuckled.

"Oh, stop it."

* * *

"Hey, I think I just saw a mermaid," Tom slurred as Aurelia buckled him into the passenger seat of the truck, pulling a blanket over him. It had just gotten dark, meaning they had spent most of the afternoon at the bar. Classic for the Currys.

"That's just the drinks, Pops," she told him, patting his chest. Tom may have been the faster drinker, but with her Atlantean abilities she couldn't get drunk, whereas he could, and did.

"No, I think I really saw one..." His words were broken by a great yawn. "I thought your mom was a mermaid the first time I saw her."

"Yeah, so you've told me." Aurelia chuckled. "Come on, let's get you home, yeah?"

But as she was making her way around the truck to the driver's side, she found that maybe her father had been right. She blinked hard. "Come on, we didn't have _that_ much to drink."

A woman in a sparkling emerald suit, complimented by her bright red hair, was emerging from the water and onto the docks. She wasn't a mermaid, but she obviously wasn't from around here. Aurelia knew exactly where she was from, judging by the gold arch symbol on the front of her suit. This woman was Atlantean.

"I've been looking for you." The woman strode forward. "I need you to come with me to Atlantis."

"Oh boy, here we go..."

"Your rival for the throne, Crown Prince Orm, is about to declare war upon the surface world."

"Is that right? So I've got a rival now? Well, hate to break it to you, but that's old news. All Atlanteans hate me."

"Prince Orm is about to ascend to the throne, but an issue has arisen: there's another heir. You. Orm has requested that you visit, so that this dispute may be settled-"

"Dispute? What dispute? I don't even want the throne."

"-His father has agreed, amazingly."

"I thought the royals hated me."

"They do, at least some. Most."

"Awesome. And you are?"

"A willing ally."

"Okay... So you think that if I just show up, Orm will yield the throne?"

"No, but you two were childhood friends, that gives you an advantage, means you're already established in Atlantis, even if only a little."

Aurelia shook her head. "I barely remember that, I don't think it's going to do me any good."

"Even if not, you need to accept, then challenge him for the throne, and stop this war before it begins. As Queen, you'll have the power to do so-"

"Whoa, hold on a minute, I don't need to do anything. And I'm not a queen."

"You could be a hero."

"Oh, not you too. Enough with the hero stuff, I'm not some hero-"

"That's not that Vulko and Aria seem to believe."

"Oh great, you're with them." It was the first time in years that Aurelia had heard mention of her childhood mentors, Nuidis Vulko and his love, Aria, who had been advisers to her mother when she was Queen.

"If you go to Atlantis, they will have to listen to you," the woman continued, not about to let this go apparently.

"They cast my mother out. They're not going to listen to me."

"Then make them listen. Show them you have a right to rule-"

"Listen, Little Mermaid, I'm going to tell you what I told Vulko and Aria all those years ago: I am no hero, and I'm no queen. I'm a half-human bastard child who no one is going to take seriously. So leave me alone and stop with all the 'rightful queen hero' shit."

"Is that all that you are? Really?"

"Look, I can't just go waltzing into Atlantis-"

"Yes, you can! You're the only child of Queen Atlanna. The throne is yours by birthright, you have every reason and every right to challenge Orm. If you don't then he is going to attack the surface and billions of people will be killed, yours and mine."

"Well why don't you challenge him then?"

"Because I'm not the heir to the throne."

"Neither am I."

The woman sighed, obviously trying to remain calm. "They warned me you were stubborn, Vulko and Aria."

Aurelia chuckled at this. "I don't want the throne. And even if I did, I'm ill-equipped. In fact, I want nothing to do with it. You go back and tell them that. And you can also tell Orm that if he decides to attack, I'll be waiting, and I'll treat him with the same mercy they showed my mother: none." With that, before the redhead could argue her point any further, Aurelia stepped into the truck and slammed the door, driving away.

"Crazy Atlanteans," she mumbled.

 _And we're off! :) So excited for this! Thank you all so much for the love you're showing this story! Thank you so much for reading - I hope you enjoyed!_


	4. Chapter Two - A Warning

Chapter Two - A Warning

 _"Crazy Atlanteans."_

Her, Aurelia Curry, a _queen_? Heir to the throne? Oh, come on! That was ridiculous! So ridiculous she almost snorted out loud.

She cast an affectionate glance over at the passenger seat where her father now slept soundly, snoring softly. She was kind of glad he had been asleep during her conversation with the red-head for he would only tease her, and probably urge her to go with the woman. That, and she didn't want him to worry any more than he already did.

What the red-head had said tugged at her thoughts though...

Why now, after all these years, did Orm suddenly want her to visit? It had been ten years since she had been banned by his father, Vulko trying to convince the king to allow her entry, and now this. Why now?

She was pulled from her thoughts and pondering by a squawking noise from overhead. Peering through the windshield she saw a flock of seagulls flying madly in the opposite direction of the ocean, their squawking like sounds of distress.

Their calls were soon drowned out by a great roaring, and she turned to see a sight that chilled her to the core:

A massive wave was charging towards the shore, carrying a ship with it, and it was heading right for the Bay.

Aurelia stepped on the gas pedal, pushing the truck to go as fast as was possible. She felt the rumble through the road as the wave struck the shore, and it was now chasing them.

She was forcefully thrown from the truck when the wave finally hit them and engulfed everything in water. It was dark, and debris flew around, threatening to strike her. She forced her eyes to adjust faster, scrambling to locate the truck, a sickening feeling of panic settling within her gut, tightening her chest.

"Dad!" She swam around the best she could within the thrashing current, frantically searching for any sign of the truck or Tom. "Dad! DAD!"

She felt the water sucking around her, and saw that the current had changed, was changing. Following it, she ended up stepping outside of the water, into a large air pocket. What the?

There was a splash and she turned to see the red-haired Atlantean woman, eyes and palms glowing with blue light, commanding the water.

Aurelia had seen hydrokinesis before, but not to this scale.

As the water retreated, she caught sight of the truck's peeling orange paint. Racing over to it, she felt a rush of relief at finding Tom still inside. _Seat belts really do save lives_. This was quickly followed however by a stab of worry. She tore off the truck's door, ripped off the seat belt, and dragged her unconscious father out to lay him on the ground. "Dad - Dad!"

"Move! I can help-" The red-head was suddenly at her side. Aurelia did as she was told, watching the woman hold a hand hovering above Tom's face. She watched in awe as the droplets of water on his face began to rise, followed by water coming out of his mouth, followed by him spluttering and coughing madly, trying to catch his breath.

"Oh God!" Aurelia threw her arms around him in a crushing hug, tears filling her eyes. That had been _way_ too close.

When Tom had managed to catch his breath some, she turned to the other woman. "Who are you?"

"Princess Y'Mera Xebella Challa. You may call me Mera."

"Thank you, Mera. Aurelia Curry." She helped Tom to his feet.

"Dear God..." Tom breathed as they surveyed the damage. The washed-up ship's klaxon blared eerily like a wounded cry into the night.

"This was Orm's doing," Mera told them.

Aurelia sighed. "Great."

* * *

"Friends of yours?" Arthur asked her as they, along with half of the Bay, crowded around the TV in the bar, watching recaps of the worldwide coastal damage. It was the same everywhere, all over the world, garbage and ships dumped back onto land, causing colossal damage and panic.

"My rival for the throne, apparently."

"Oh, damn."

Aurelia shook her head. She barely remembered travelling to Atlantis as a child and befriending the prince, but this couldn't have been the same boy, her playmate. A lot must have changed in ten years.

"I'm going to go."

"You sure that's the best idea? I thought you said they hated you?"

"They do, at least most of them. I've got a few 'allies' there: Vulko, Aria, and now this Mera. And who knows, maybe Orm will do a favour for an old friend." She sighed. "Plus, maybe I can find out what happened to Mom." Arthur gave her a comforting pat on the back. "One thing's for sure, I have to make sure something like this doesn't happen again."

He nodded. Then he cracked a grin. "Otherwise they'll face the wrath of the 'Aquawoman.'"

"Oh, shut up." He laughed as she hugged him. "Watch out for Dad?"

"Of course."

"Thanks."

"I'll buy you a drink when you're back."

"Thanks, I'll need it."

* * *

Aurelia met Mera at the beach below the cliffs. Mera was to take her to meet Vulko and Aria, who would then take her to the rendezvous at the palace. She had her mother's trident strapped across her back - she wasn't sure she would need proof of being Atlanna's daughter, but she decided it couldn't hurt. And who knew, she might need to use it.

"Hope you don't mind, but I invited some friends along for the swim." Mera gave her a confused look to which Aurelia just grinned. She placed her thumb and index finger to her lips and whistled, and a few moments later three long, grey noses peeked out of the water.

"Hey girls!" Aurelia went over and knelt down. The dolphins called out to her. "Well, looks like I'm finally doing this-" She was cut off when Daphne, the leader of the trio, spit some water in her face, followed by a mocking chitter. "Hey, don't use that tone with me. You know very well why I haven't gone back before now. I'm only doing this to avoid another mess like last night. I don't even want to go. But I have to."

"You're _talking_ to them?" Aurelia looked up to see Mera staring down at her in astonishment and wariness.

"Yeah."

"But they're animals."

"Uh uh, careful what you say around them, they can understand you," she warned. "These three were just babies when I met them. Vulko and Aria were teaching me how to use and control my Atlantean abilities. These three helped me with my swimming."

"Okay, you talk to animals too. You're crazier than I thought."

"Well good, we understand each other." Daphne gave another chitter. "Oh... He is, huh?"

Mera crossed her arms. "Now what are they saying?"

"That Orm's excited to see me again, apparently."

Now Mera raised her eyebrows. "What's the deal with you two anyway?"

Aurelia shrugged. "Honestly, I don't really remember. I was five when Vulko and Aria brought me to Atlantis. I vaguely remember we would play together, me and Orm. But that's it."

"Well, he obviously remembers you."

"Yeah... Hopefully that's a good thing..."

The women began wading out into the water, the dolphins dunking back under.

"Just so we're clear, I'm just going to see what they want, that's it, that's all. Then I'm coming back."

"Maybe for the best. Probably." She could tell Mera was bitter about her lack of want to go along with Mera's plan of thrones, birthrights, and rightful heirs and being queen.

"Look, I'm sorry I can't be of more help, okay. But I'm really not what you're thinking. Besides, why should I help? What has Atlantis ever done for me but steal my mother and destroy my family?"

"Whatever you say." The red-head shrugged. "But just wait until you see it for yourself."

 _Yay, here comes Atlantis! And Orm! :D Haha I'm so obsessed! ;) Hope you enjoyed this chapter, thank you so much for reading! :)_


	5. Chapter Three - Welcome to Atlantis

Chapter Three - Welcome to Atlantis, Welcome Home

Upon Aurelia finally agreeing to visit the underwater kingdom, Mera had sent word back home to Vulko and Aria who then informed the king and prince so that everything could be arranged for the princess's visit. Aurelia wasn't sure what needed to be arranged, cause as far as she was concerned she wasn't staying long.

They had stopped swimming at Mera's word to do so, and were now floating, waiting. Guess they had reached the meeting spot. Aurelia was thankful for the presence of the dolphins - she still held onto her skepticism of this place, so having them here too was reassuring.

She saw a flash of something up ahead, and at first thought it was her still-adjusting eyes playing tricks on her. "Uh, what's this?" she questioned when she saw what looked like a glowing shark swimming towards them.

"There they are," Mera said.

"In that - _thing_?"

"Yes, it's a transportation vessel, like you have on the surface, but much more efficient I imagine."

Aurelia rolled her eyes at Mera's obvious jab at the surface world.

The ship-thing floated over swiftly, stopping before the two women. Vulko and Aria emerged.

"Vulko, Aria." Aurelia addressed them. "Here I am, you finally got what you always wanted."

Vulko gave her a warm smile, that which she always remembered from her mentor. "Aurelia. I wish it were under better circumstances."

"Look at you!" gushed Aria, pulling the young woman in for a hug, also which Aurelia remembered fondly. "We've heard you are doing great things up on the surface."

Aurelia shrugged. "Just doing what needs to be done. Helping those who need it."

The couple exchanged a glance. "Always humble."

Now that the reunions had been made, it was time to turn to the matter at hand. The couple's expressions turned grave. "We also hear that the damage up on the surface is significant," Aria said. "Orvax will be pleased. As will Orm."

"It was merely a warning. The worst is yet to come, I'm afraid," added Vulko. "The other kingdoms do not yet see Orm as their future king, but instead as an ignorant boy. The attack on your world was his way of proving to them that he's serious, and willing to do whatever it takes for his cause."

"Great," Aurelia sighed through gritted teeth. "So what is this really all about? They actually want to talk with me?" she wondered aloud.

"Orm wishes to see you. Why his father has agreed is still unclear. But this gives you the perfect window to enter the kingdom and then infiltrate."

"What is this? _Mission Impossible_ now? I've literally been here two minutes - I'm not even in Atlantis yet! No, I'm going in there, seeing what they want, and I'm leaving. Not going on some top secret underwater super-spy mission. You want that, then I'm not your girl. I did not come here to be Queen."

"You even have it written on your shirt," Mera said, nodding to Aurelia's tank top.

"What? No, this is a band I like. It's their logo-"

"You don't understand," cried Mera. "Orm is gaining power, and quickly. Once he is named Ocean Master, the power at his disposal will be too great, unlimited."

Aurelia gave a snort of laughter. "'Ocean Master'?"

"You're the one who goes by 'Aquawoman'," the redhead shot back.

"I didn't choose that name! People just started using it."

"We'd best be going," Vulko broke into the ladies' dispute over names. "Orm is eager to see you again, so we'd better not keep him waiting." He and Aria exchanged a slightly-amused glance that did not go unnoticed by Aurelia.

She sighed. "Oh goody."

"Come, my young Princess, your chariot awaits." Vulko gestured to the ship. He and Aria climbed back into the front seats, Aurelia and Mera in the back, and they were off. The dolphins followed closely behind.

The whole ride, thoughts about this upcoming meeting with the king and prince swam around in Aurelia's head - no pun intended. _Why now? What do they really want?_

All thoughts were broken when they passed through a narrow opening in a cliff, and a bright light met them when they emerged from the other side.

The light was pouring out of the curved 'A'-like symbol, the official crest of Atlantis. The crest formed a giant glowing archway that a bridge full creatures and similar ships was passing over and through into the gateway.

"A bridge under water?"

"It's a remnant of the old city," explained Mera. Aurelia noted the Ancient Greek-looking statues on either side of the bridge closest to the gate, kneeling, helmet-covered heads bent as if in a respectful bow, tridents pointing upwards held in their clasped hands.

"What's all this?"

"Security, customs and border control. People try and sneak in all the time," Mera told her. "Don't worry, we have diplomatic clearance."

True to her words, their ship passed easily through the security, breezing through.

"We're here. Welcome home."

"Well shit," Aurelia exclaimed, her jaw literally falling open. She had been expecting more Ancient Greek. Not bioluminescent technological marvel. This had definitely - somehow - escaped her memory. It had also been ten years, so this could have been a new development.

"Your old friend Orm likes to dabble in technology," said Mera. Aurelia figured the red-head would always reference her childhood friendship with Orm at any and every given chance. "All this is his doing."

"Dabbles, huh?" This was a lot more than just dabbling, the whole city was alive with technology, it's influence seen and felt everywhere.

"This ship was courtesy of him," added Aria.

"His father is much more traditional, that is why so much of the old city remains," Vulko explained. "But Orm is head of all of the technological advancements. One ruler's influence passing on into the next."

"You like it?" Mera was smiling victoriously at Aurelia.

"I'm impressed." There was obviously so much she didn't remember.

A few turtles floated up to the side of the window, humming to her in greeting. She placed her palm against the glass and spoke back to them.

"Up ahead, the royal palace," announced Vulko. He slowed the ship to a stop.

A group of what appeared to be guards stood already awaiting them. Their armour, helmets, and the way they marched with guns reminded her of the Storm Troopers from _Star Wars_. They were also just as intimidating.

"Uh..."

"They are Prince Orm's personal guards," Vulko explained, noticing her slightly-alarmed look.

"Uh, okay... This is a little excessive-" The storm troopers surrounded her as soon as she was out of the ship. Vulko gave her a look that said, _Just go along with it. Don't worry._

"We'll be here the whole time," Aria assured her.

 _Not worrying yet, just starting to wonder..._

"This way," the slightly-muffled voice of one of the guards ordered her.

The guards - armed guards - led her into the palace, which was tall and spiraling, with lots of negative space peeking out into the water, statues standing guard everywhere. Vulko and Aria swam closely behind.

At a set of giant double-doors - also framed by Ancient World-like statues - two guards opened the doors and led her inside.

 _Well, here goes..._ Time to meet the king and prince. Time to find out exactly what she was doing here.

 _It's been a crazy week full of power outages, travel delays, and weather issues, but finally I'm back with another chapter - thank you for your patience! :)_

 _I was hoping we'd meet Orm in this chapter, but it will be in the next one (I promise! ;)) I have also discovered that Patrick Wilson is a singer (:D) so I HAVE TO have Orm sing at some point! ;)_

 _As always, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)_


	6. Chapter Four - Homecoming?

Chapter Four - Homecoming?

The room which they entered was long, wide, and open. A curved, pearl-white structure sat at the far end, acting as the throne. On the upper part of the curve a man with graying blond hair dressed in gold and dark green armour sat, clutching an elaborate trident. An equally elaborate crown sat atop his held-high head.

A deep boiling of hatred towards this man Aurelia had only just set eyes on was now brewing within her. She immediately knew exactly who he was: Orvax. The man who had cost her and her father her mother.

On the lower part of the curved structure, a less elaborately-carved throne, sat another figure, one who bared a passing resemblance to the king. This was the prince, Orm, her old friend and now rival. His stare was the least unnerving. He sat perched on the edge of his throne, expectantly almost.

Aurelia quickly took in her surroundings, like she always did when out on missions: good to be familiar with where you were. Guards lined the marble pathway she and the others floated along, and above them were more armoured figures, though not battle armour. She guessed that these people were part of the court. She noticed Mera near the front, a gold scalloped crown now sitting atop her head.

Vulko and Aria floated forward ahead of her, heads bowed low. The guards who had escorted her didn't budge.

"My King, My Prince," Vulko addressed. "I am happy to present to you Princess Aurelia Curry." He gestured to her, his head still bowed.

If all eyes hadn't already been on her from the moment she set foot inside the hall, they were now. She could feel the stares, burning into her, namely that of the king.

 _I_ _a_ _m not bowing to this guy,_ she quickly decided. _Like hell I'm going to._

Orvax observed her in silence through dark eyes - they evidently shared a mutual loathing for each other. His thin lips turned upwards into a slight smirk. " _This_ is her? Daughter of Atlanna? Royalty?"

"Do I not look like it to you?" she challenged. The king merely smirked, amused. Already she was getting strange vibes from him. "What, you want proof? A blood test? Here, I have her trident with me - recognize it?" She took it off her back and held it up, shaking it a little for emphasis.

Orvax only continued to smirk, something that really irritated her. "You don't look like her, Atlanna."

"No, I look more like my father."

"The human."

"Yes." She almost flinched at the way he practically spat 'human'.

"The enemy."

 _Oh boy, here we go_... "You know, most humans don't even think Atlantis exists. You're all just a myth to them, nothing more than a story, a fairy tale. They pose no threat."

"Then they are about to receive a much-needed wake-up call. And as for being a threat, what do you know? You do not know of our ways."

"Cause you wouldn't allow me to come back here until now, _My King_ ," she mocked.

Orvax raised his thin eyebrows. "But, I have always thought it best to take down a potential threat before it becomes one."

"Father-" stepped in Orm, but Orvax continued and ignored him.

"Vulko, my trusted adviser. I thought you were bringing us a royal. Not a lowly peasant."

This rose chuckles from some of the court members.

Her jaw tightened. Judging by how everyone else was dressed - in their coloured and scaly wet-suits and fancy armour - she maybe didn't look as regal as they expected. Maybe her choice of attire - the long tank top with the Queen logo and band name on it, brown khaki pants, combat boots, and the leather bracers on her arms - hadn't been the best choice for today. But this was her everyday attire, who she was, and she wasn't about to change that or compromise that for these people. And certainly not for the pompous jerk of a king sitting on the throne judging her from a distance. She could practically feel the judgement radiating off of him.

"I am the daughter of Queen Atlanna, true ruler of Atlantis, making me the potential future queen. I even have it written on my shirt-" She gestured to Queen's logo. She caught Mera rolling her eyes at this. "I've always thought you were a jerk, and now you've proven me right." Now it was her turn to smirk when her comment shut him up. His expression darkened, however. She caught Vulko and Aria wince. She caught Orm smiling.

"Father, please. She is our guest." The prince turned to her and smiled warmly, a stark contrast to his father's greeting of her. "Half-blood or not, she is of royal blood. She is still Atlantean, and deserves to be here." He rose from his throne and floated forwards a little.

Wow, he was beautiful.

"Aurelia. Hello, welcome back to Atlantis. I'm so glad that you have finally returned, it's so good to see you again." His voice was strong yet gentle.

"T-thanks..." Did her reply sound as squeaky as she thought it did?

He was all gold. Fair golden hair, gold skin, gold armour. Even as he came closer she saw that his piercing blue eyes had flecks of gold within them depending on how the light struck them, like gold coins scattered amongst the ocean.

A golden beam of the hall's bright lights even shone down on him, making him glow.

 _He looks like a Disney prince,_ was her first thought.

She remembered his hair longer, and not as light. Now he wore it pulled back and pinned beneath his crown, also of gold.

But those eyes - looking into them was like a time machine, suddenly sending her back deep within the recesses of her memory to her early childhood when she had first met Prince Orm, heir to Atlantis like her, and they had played together for hours and hours, talking, laughing, instantly friends. Until his father banished her and forbid her to ever return, a stain upon the glorious canvas of Atlantis. Suddenly, so many memories she had forgotten came rushing back, so rapidly it nearly shocked her.

She realized she was staring and that Orm was still speaking to her.

"I must say you have grown in character, confidence, and beauty," he told her. Then he held out his hand. "May I?"

She wasn't exactly sure what he meant, but she reached her own hand out towards him.

He gently scooped it up and held it to his lips, meeting eyes with her as he placed a quick yet tender kiss on the back of it, avoiding the big rings that adorned her fingers.

 _He_ is _like a Disney prince!_ She half expected him to then burst into song and dance for her, a mental image which almost made her chuckle aloud, but luckily she caught herself before that happened.

This was not the goofy boy she vaguely remembered from her brief childhood experience in Atlantis, although she still sensed some of that playfulness within him. This was a gentleman.

"Well, what do you think?" Orm spread his arms before him, gesturing to Atlantis and all its glory.

"Uh, it's great," she managed, still not fully out of her memory-trance. She cleared her throat, and continued more confidently, "Really nice, yeah. I really like all the technology. That's really cool." Wow, she sounded ridiculous. The king and all the court members and guards were probably silently laughing at her.

Orm smiled, his eyes lighting up. "Thank you, I'm glad. That's my own addition. I can show you more of it if you like."

"Yeah, sure, sounds good."

"Forgive me, you can probably tell I'm excited. I'm sure, for now though, you'd like to get yourself settled and better acquainted with Atlantis. We have a room all ready for you, Aria will show you to your chambers."

"Uh, hang on a second - room? I'm not staying-" This meeting had almost caused her whole reason for being here in the first place to slip her mind. "I came here on your request, we obviously have some business to discuss. You launched a massive, worldwide tidal wave up on the surface." Oh, right, _that_. Although she was now having some trouble believing this sweet, polite guy would do such a thing. His father, on the other hand...

Orm's smile fell slightly, she noticed. "Yes, you are correct. But please, allow us to host you here, even if only for a short while. Atlantis is your home by birthright."

"She doesn't have any birthrights here," broke in Orvax. The moment he opened his mouth tension filled the room.

"She has Atlantean blood, and royal blood. She is welcome here by our most sacred laws," Orm continued, this now directed to his father and her. "So please, stay a while-" His voice softened when he addressed her directly. "We will get down to business shortly. Make yourself at home here."

She had really been hoping this would be more of an in-and-out kind of situation, but she also had to admit that now having set foot back here, she was awfully curious.

"All right," she obliged. "I'll stay. But not for long."

Orm smiled thankfully and nodded. "Of course. Do not hesitate to come find me if you need anything. We want your stay to be as comfortable as possible." By the look his father wore, the king didn't agree with his son.

"Thank you, My Prince." Aria bowed her head. "Come, Princess," she nodded to Aurelia, and led her out of the hall.

The last things she caught sight of were the sharp and dark glare of King Orvax, and the bright blue eyes of Prince Orm staring after her.

 _He is like a Disney prince! He can even sing! ;) Haha, I couldn't help myself with that one! But yay, they've finally met! ;) So excited for this series!_

 _If you are reading my other Orm story, I'm working on the next chapter and will hopefully have it updated soon! (it's taken me longer than I'd hoped)._

 _As always, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)_


	7. Chapter Five - Royal Guest

Chapter Five - Royal Guest

Leaving the Great Hall was like taking a breath of fresh air. Or, in this case, a breath of fresh sea water.

Aurelia heaved a heavy sigh and immediately turned to Vulko and Aria. "Well that was fun. I'm so glad you brought me here so that I could be mocked and insulted and ogled at by everyone!" She threw up her hands in frustration. "I told you they wouldn't take me seriously."

The two nodded and sighed. "Aurelia," Vulko began. "We know that-"

"-But it's really nothing new, though, so I should be used to it by now." Although this had been much different than all those times at school being picked on as a kid.

"Princess Aurelia-" She jumped slightly when she heard the melodic voice of the prince and turned to see him floating nearby. Well that was fast.

Vulko and Aria immediately straightened up and bowed their heads. "My Prince."

He gave them a nod of acknowledgement before turning back to Aurelia and giving her a welcoming and sympathetic smile.

"I really prefer just 'Aurelia'," she told him. "Aurelia Curry."

"Oh, yes, of course. Aurelia. I sensed your discomfort as you left the hall, understandably, and wanted to make sure you were all right."

"Oh, um-" She was a little caught off-guard. She hadn't been expecting this to be honest.

"I'm very sorry about my father's attitude towards you, but it won't change, I'm afraid. My father is very narrow-minded-"

"Huh, yeah you don't say."

"But I hope you're not _too_ offended..." Now he looked embarrassed, embarrassed for the way she had been treated when it wasn't even his fault.

"It stung a little, but I've heard it all before. Well, most of it. A lot of it," she admitted. "But thank you for the apology and coming to check on me. I appreciate it."

His smile brightened now. "Of course. I wanted to make sure we hadn't scared you off when you've only just returned to me - uh, us," he spluttered towards the end, straightening up.

She chuckled. "Don't worry. It takes a lot more than a pompous-assed king like him to scare me-" Vulko and Aria were shooting her warning glances. It was then, of course, that she remembered who she was speaking to: that pompous-assed king's son.

But Orm only chuckled, not trying to hide it. "Well, I'm glad. And I'm glad to have you here. Very glad-" He seemed to get lost in what he said, before he straightened up again and cleared his throat. "I was wondering, and hoping, that you might join us for dinner tonight in the dining hall?"

And face all that criticism again so soon? She wasn't so sure. "Uh, you know, thank you for the offer, but I don't think I'm feeling up to it tonight."

The disappointment was written clear on his face, but he tried to keep himself composed. "Of course, I understand, of course. I'll have the cook prepare you a tray for your room."

"Thank you."

"Of course. My pleasure. But I'll hold you up no longer, let you go and get settled. Again, I mean it, if you need anything, come and find me. I want you to feel comfortable here. Unlike my father, I feel that it is only fair for you to be allowed here. You are Atlantean, full-blooded or half-blooded. It is just as much your home as it is ours."

Again, his words surprised her. "Thank you."

"My Prince." The others bowed their heads again, and Aurelia was about to join them in doing so, but stopped herself. This was already showing signs of a very iron-fist rule, with a bit of fear playing in there as well, all the signs were there. And she had only been here maybe an hour.

Vulko and Aria shared a parting kiss before heading their separate ways, he probably to his duties and Aria to show Aurelia to her room.

That was the thing, growing up, while she hadn't had her parents' relationship in her life, she had had Vulko and Aria's. Of course, there was no shortage of affection in Tom's remembering of Atlanna, but it was different seeing it between two people. Whenever she saw the affection shared between her mentors, she couldn't help but smile.

"Right this way." Aria led her winding through the palace to a wing far from the Great Hall that she was sure she would never find again.

"Wow. This is - wow..." She was speechless as they entered the room that was apparently to be hers, a room larger than the whole lighthouse that she called home. "Excessive. Really? I don't need all this space."

"Orm had us ready the best guest room for you," Aria explained.

 _Why am I not surprised?_ That explained a lot. Wait, _guest_ bedroom? She wondered what the royal chambers were like then.

"He really wants you to feel comfortable here," Aria reiterated what Orm himself had assured her of before.

"Yeah, no kidding." She half expected to find a gift and big sign that said WELCOME!

"And he's completely going against his father in doing so."

"Yeah. Old Orvax would probably have me locked up in the dungeons."

"He will if you don't start being careful about what you say here. Someone can, and will, report you."

Aurelia scanned the room again, quickly noticing the lack of a crucial thing for a bedroom. "Uh, where's the bed?"

Aria smiled and gestured for her to follow her through a doorway and into a wide space where a giant bed was. "Seriously? All mine?"

"All yours."

"Whew!" She collapsed onto the bed, letting herself fall back onto the cushy surface - it was the softest, most comfortable bed she had ever been in. "Well, I'll sure have to thank Orm for his hospitality. Yikes, after my intro to the king, I didn't expect his son to be so nice," she remarked.

Aria smiled. "That's his mother's kindness and compassion shining through him, her legacy that he continues to carry. I have always been the adviser to the Queen, you know. Your mother, and when your time as Queen comes, I will be yours as well."

"And if Orm becomes King, whoever he marries, you'll be her adviser too."

Aria paused in her wandering about the room for a moment and then nodded. "Yes. And I was also adviser and attendant to Orm's mother when she became Queen after marrying King Orvax, Opal. She was lovely, the sweetest woman. She bared the king a son, and her little prince was her pride and joy. She loved him so much, and he loved her. But she died when he was ten years old, and so his father's influence has been the only one he's had ever since. Vulko and I try to keep his mother's spirit alive the best we can when advising him, but Orvax is very strict, as you can probably already tell. Thankfully, Orm has retained much of what Opal taught him, although as time passes, I worry how much longer it will last with his father leading." She paused. "I had hoped your visit might help with this."

Her words caused Aurelia to sit up on the edge of the bed thoughtfully. So much pressure... People were expecting so much of her, and she didn't want to let any of them down. But she honestly didn't feel like she could help them, at all, not in the way they needed. And this whole thing was only becoming more and more complicated.

The smile that had fallen during the end of her speech returned to Aria's lips. "Well, I'll give you some time to get yourself settled and comfortable in this new setting. Come and find us if you need anything."

"Thanks, Aria."

"My pleasure, as always."

Once the chamber door closed behind her, Aurelia fell back onto the bed once more, sinking into the soft blankets which threatened to swallow her whole, and let out a heavy breath.

After a few minutes of lying there, she got up and began wandering around herself. She felt she could even get lost in this ridiculously large room, so she would definitely get lost in the rest of the city.

As she stood on her chamber balcony, looking out at the ancient-like city yet which glowed with the power of technology, she heard a chirping, and saw Daphne and the other dolphins swim over, joining her in her taking in of the city.

"I don't know about this, girls," she admitted to them with a sigh. "I don't know."

 _Thank you so much for all the follows, favourites, and reviews! :) you all are amazing!_

 _Can't wait for some more interactions between Aurelia and Orm! ;) Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed (as always!)_


	8. Chapter Six - A Whole New World

Chapter Six - A Whole New World

A little later, Aria brought Aurelia her promised dinner on a silver tray adorned with flowers.

"The flowers were Orm's addition." Aria grinned, setting the tray down. "I also brought these-" She held up a stack of clothing, including jeans and khaki trousers, and assorted band shirts, including The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. "I figured this would be more fitting for your wardrobe."

"Thanks, Aria."

"My pleasure, as always. Will that be all?"

"Yeah, I think so, I'm planning on staying in tonight."

"Sounds good. Feel free to go exploring, although it sounds like Orm wants to take you on a tour. Just let us know if you need anything."

"Thanks Aria, will do."

It was a little difficult to tell what time it was, due to being so far under the ocean that it was always dark. She stood on her balcony looking out over the city, mesmerized by its inner glow. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, again, as it was hard to tell the time. However, slightly exhausted from the events of the day, she turned in early.

She awoke and immediately began her morning routine: start with something active. She stood in the centre of her room, swinging her mother's trident around to practice with it. Atlanna's weapon had always been a bit unbalanced when Aurelia used it, so it could be a little awkward sometimes.

She found a tray outside her door baring her breakfast (and more flowers), which she ate before going back to training.

 _Smash!_ During one swing, the trident slipped from her hands and knocked a bunch of breakable vases off a side table.

"Aurelia!" She heard Orm's voice calling from outside her door, making her jump. "Are you all right?"

"Shit - yeah!" she called back. "Just knocked something - somethings - over! It's okay! Hope those weren't too valuable," she muttered to herself as she scrambled to pick up the broken pieces.

Once she had hastily cleaned up, she went over to open the door to find a concerned Orm standing there. "I knocked, but you mustn't have heard me."

"Sorry, yeah, I was concentrated on training. Sorry for the mess," she added, gesturing to the broken vases.

Orm's eyes widened. "Those were from the First Dynasty."

Aurelia was about to start apologizing profusely, until she noticed Orm cracking a grin.

"Sorry, just joking." After the initial panic wore away, this made her chuckle along with him. Look at them, joking and laughing together as if long-time friends and not rivals for the throne. It sounded so dramatic.

"What happened?"

"I was swinging the trident around, probably shouldn't have been. It's a bit unbalanced so it kind of slipped and I knocked all that over."

"Ah, yes. Each royal has their own trident specially made for them, so it will be unbalanced if anyone else tries to use it."

"That explains it then. That's kind of like wands in _Harry Potter,_ you can really only use your own."

Judging by his confused expression, she guessed that he didn't know of _Harry Potter_. Made sense, though.

"Your mother's trident is very beautiful." He examined the weapon. "We'll have to get you your own."

"Yeah, maybe. I'm more of a hand-to-hand combat woman myself, but thanks anyways."

"I was wondering if I could take you on a tour of the city?"

"Yeah, Aria mentioned that. You're really wasting no time, huh?"

"Well, you said you weren't planning on staying too long, so I want to make the most of our time together." He was smiling, she was nodding. "Finally, we're reunited after all this time."

Okay then. At least he was being honest. "Alright. Lead the way then."

Atlantis really was an underwater wonderland. She loved the blend of old and new, Ancient World and modern. Orm showed her around the palace, gardens, market, and Old City.

"And this here is one of my favourite places in the whole city."

"Where are we?"

Orm was grinning excitedly. "My lab."

As soon as they swam inside, the room illuminated itself with bioluminescence. "This is the heart of the Atlantean technological design, which I am head of. This is where I do all my designing and building."

"Wow..." Was all she could say. Then she added, "this is all really impressive."

"Thank you."

"And handsome..." She was staring at him again. "Nice! It's all very nice," she tried to cover her slip-up.

"Here, put these goggles on, and I'll show you the latest weapon design. It's a blaster, and converts water into plasma beams." The curved, uneven surface of the weapon made it look like a large piece of coral.

He took the weapon and gestured for her to follow him into a side-room, which resembled a firing range. He hoisted up the weapon and fired it across the long room. She watched in awe as a beam of red energy shot across the room and struck the wall.

"Whoa... And you designed it?"

"Yes, I did."

So he wasn't only handsome and kind, but also smart. He was gaining more wins and surprises in her book.

"How far can it shoot?"

"Here, let's find out."

Sharing a mischievous grin, they took the weapon outside the lab, and he led her to a corner of the city where empty ocean stretched before them, ancient pillars and statues signalling the edge of the city. He fired the weapon again, both watching as the beam shot through the water, rippling it, and stretching further than the eye could see, even their Atlantean eyes.

"Whoa! That's awesome! Can I try?"

"Of course." He passed her the weapon and showed her how to hold and fire it. She aimed and pulled the trigger.

The force of the blast caused her to be pushed back a little, also causing the beam of energy to shift - blasting off the head of a nearby statue.

"Oh-" By the look on Orm's face, that statue was more valuable than the vases this morning that had fallen victim to her trident-swinging.

"Who did I just behead?"

"King Atlan, first King of Atlantis."

"Oh... _Sorry.._."

"Orm."

Both jumped and turned to see that the situation had only gotten worse - there was Orvax, flanked by guards.

"Father." Orm quickly bowed his head while Aurelia could feel the scrutiny of the king's gaze.

"So now you're destroying our home," Orvax accused her.

"It was an accident, it was my fault," Orm quickly stepped in, defending her.

"Silence. I wasn't talking to you." She noticed how Orm flinched at this. It was subtle, but there.

"Orm was showing me his tech designs, and I asked to try the blaster. It's my fault, I'm sorry about the statue, it was an accident."

Orvax seemed to ignore her apology - which, by the way, she was not pleased to be giving to him - and instead continued to grill his son. "You know how I feel about your technology. And you should be preparing for King Nereus's arrival, not fooling around. You didn't forget about Xebel's arrival tomorrow, did you?"

"Of course not, Father. I have been preparing for it-"

"Then I suggest you continue. This is a big moment for us, for you."

"I am aware of that, Father."

"Only I'm not sure you realize the weight of this. I suggest you return to preparing for our guests."

Orm nodded, looking ashamed. "Of course, Father."

"And as for you-" Now Orvax addressed her. "You would do well to keep your hands to yourself and to not dig into what you don't understand." With that, he and his guards floated away.

"I'm sorry," Orm began, giving her a smile, though not his usual smile.

"No, I'm sorry."

He nodded. "I would invite you to dinner, but I'm afraid I have work to do, so I will be eating in my chambers."

"Yeah, that's fine, thanks. I should probably do the same. Thanks for the tour, it was nice. And I really do like your technology. I think it's great."

His smile grew. "Thank you, Aurelia."

She realized once he left that she hadn't discussed the tidal wave and his threat to the surface - she had been too distracted.

 _Whew! So sorry for such a delay! With 'Avengers: Endgame' being released, my Marvel stories were taking priority. But don't worry, I am still in love with Orm and am excited to continue this story! ;)_

 _And I just saw the live-action 'Aladdin' (so, so good, I highly recommend!) and yes, this chapter title is inspired by the song! ;)_

 _Thank you for waiting so patiently and for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)_


	9. Chapter Seven - More 'Good' First-

Chapter Seven - More 'Good' First Impressions

The next day was indeed a grand affair, with Altantis welcoming a neighbouring kingdom, the Kingdom of Xebel, Mera's home.

Still, Aurelia refused to wear a traditional wet-suit and today sported her Rolling Stones tank-top. It was a small form of resistance that she thoroughly enjoyed.

Orm floated over to her. "So I'm a little confused, what's going on?" she asked him. "Must be pretty important if you got out the battle armour. You're not going to war, are you?"

He chuckled. "You're very observant."

"A quick study."

He continued to smile. "No, not war, just politics."

"Some could argue that those are very similar. Closely intertwined."

He chuckled. "Yes, they can be. I am trying to reunite the kingdoms under a common cause."

Now she understood. "To destroy the surface world."

His smile fell. "Aurelia, I know how you feel about this-"

"Do you? We haven't yet had a chance to discuss it."

"But we will. After this meeting, I promise." Seemed to her like he was avoiding it. "This is a very special day. We are making history. And I would like to give you something, as a token of my appreciation for having you here." He withdrew a bracelet, copper and adorned with a single pearl. Simple, but beautiful.

"This belonged to my mother, Queen Opal. I would like you to have it. I see that you like jewelry." He nodded to her already adorned fingers and wrists. "May I?"

"Oh, um-" She was shocked. "Thank you. You didn't have to give me a gift. Especially not one that obviously means so much to you."

"Trust me, I did. And, like I said, I want you to have it. It is an accessory fit for a queen."

She held up her wrist and he slipped the bracelet on, giving her wrist an affectionate little squeeze and giving her a warm smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to."

"Well, good luck."

"Thank you."

He slipped on his helmet and swam over to the front of the procession. Her wrist, which now bore Opal's bracelet, felt warm.

"You're ready?" Orvax questioned his son.

"Yes. I feel ready."

"You don't look ready."

"I am, Father."

"Is that your mother's bracelet the human is wearing?"

"Aurelia, and yes. I gave it to her as a gift. The bracelet was in my possession, I am free to do with it what I choose."

"Just don't lose site of the task at hand. Don't let a pretty face get in your way."

"She's much more than that."

"Still, don't lose sight."

"I won't. I haven't."

The meeting was arranged in the Old City. Orvax and the guards hung back while Orm was front and centre.

They waited around for a few minutes and Aurelia was just beginning to wonder if Orm had been stood up when a procession of other Atlanteans riding on the backs of seahorses swam into view.

"Ah, sea- _horses_. I get it." Her comment made Vulko and Aria chuckle. Then Vulko swam forward.

"King Nereus understands the importance of this meeting," Vulko, now at Orm's side, told him. "He will hear you out."

Orm removed his helmet and dismounted his tylosaur.

"Aren't those extinct?" Aurelia muttered.

"Crown Prince Orm."

"King Nereus."

The two royals clasped arms in greeting.

"I must admit your attack against the surface surprised me."

"And why is that?"

"I thought you were always one to talk business before enacting upon it. Perhaps you are more like your father than I realized. Still, you picked a meeting place too close to the surface for my liking," stated the king. Now Aurelia knew where Mera got her striking red hair.

"Mine as well. But you do recognize where we are? The Old City." Orm began gesturing to the various statues as he spoke. "The Council of the Kings. In King Atlan's time, the Seven Kingdoms were one. Our ancestors gathered here. Atlantis sat here at the head of the table, Xebel always at our side. The Brine and Fishermen, the Deserters and Trench had not yet fallen, the Lost Nation had not yet vanished. Together, we were the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Now we are shackled by archaic laws and politics, while the threat above us grows undeniably stronger." Orm's blue orbs flicked up to look above them, the surface world looming up and beyond. "They have evolved, and now, so must we. To match their threat."

"Violence has always plagued the surface," Nereus countered. "They will destroy themselves."

Okay, he kind of had a point.

"Not before destroying us first. We have been hiding long enough. The time has come for Atlantis to rise again and reclaim itself as the world's leading empire."

"We honour you, King Nereus-" Vulko swam forward with his hammerhead shark. "By inviting Xebel to be the first kingdom to join Prince Orm's alliance."

"As if you have any, choice, Vulko. By law, you need four of the seven kingdoms for such an alliance. The Lost Nation and the Deserters have long since perished. The Trench, nothing but animals. The Brine will never join you and the Fishermen are cowards. Without me and my army to convince them, your plans fail." The king turned back to Orm. "But I know what you really want: once you've obtained the pledge of the four kingdoms, you will be ordained _Ocean Master..."_

This was met by a snort from Aurelia. "Sorry, sorry. It's just, that name..."

"So this is her then?" said Nereus. "Queen Atlanna's bastard child? I would never have known."

This shut Aurelia up. "Hey, watch it."

"Nereus, Aurelia, please." Orm held up a hand signalling for peace. "Yes, this is her. She is my guest. And as for Ocean Master - it is merely a title." He obviously wanted to get back on track.

"I am no fool, Prince Orm. As Ocean Master you will be commander of the greatest military might on this planet."

 _Military might great enough to attack the surface._ Aurelia was piecing this together. This was moving quickly - they had to put an end to this before it began. _She_ had to.

"I am the natural choice to lead it," Orm firmly, though she could tell his confidence was wavering.

"Are you?" Nereus cast a glace towards Aurelia. "And what of her? Your guest?" he mocked. "A fellow Atlantean of royal blood. You may be heir to the throne of Atlantis, but your claims are just weak. How can you possibly expect to unite an empire?"

"My loyalty is to the surface," stepped-in Aurelia. "I have no desire to be 'Ocean Master' or whatever."

"But you have a right to the throne. Just as much a right as he has. Will you not fight for it?"

"Trust me, there's a lot of things I'd rather do than rule Atlantis-"

 _BLAST!_

Those at the front of the procession were thrown back by a sudden explosion. Aurelia went flying, spinning madly.

"Surface dwellers!" shouted Vulko. "To arms!"

A lone submarine was slowly making its way towards them, firing various shots.

Caught up in all the sudden commotion, a rumble above caused Aurelia to see a giant stone column falling towards her.

"Aurelia!" Orm swept in, shoving her out of the way. "Stay back, please." Before she could thank him, or do or say anything for that matter, he swam away, calling out orders to his guards.

Aurelia tried to drown out the awful cry one of the seahorses gave when another piece of the column gave way and landed on the poor creature. King Nereus wasn't so lucky either, and had a large chunk land on him as well.

"Stay back!" Orm rushed to the King of Xebel's side. "Your king is injured!" He made sure Nereus had assistance before taking his trident and swimming towards the rapidly-approaching sub. His tylosaur swam over and Orm jumped on his back, swimming straight for the sub.

There was a nearly-blinding flash when Orm stabbed his trident into the side of the sub, spearing it across its full length, delivering the final blow by knocking off the propeller. Everyone watched in equally stunned silence as the now dismantled sub crashed into some rocks below with a shaking crash, promptly exploding.

Aurelia almost began applauding - the way Orm had instantly sprang into action. "Whoa..." _Well damn. That had been - impressive. Don't mess with Prince Orm. That was heroic!_ This was all her startled brain could muster in the moment of aftermath following the attack.

Orm floated back to King Nereus. "I'm not trying to start a war, the war's already begun."

Nereus regarded him. "Very well. It is war, then."

"Indeed it is-" Orvax floated forward. "Seize her!"

The next thing Aurelia knew, guards were grabbing her arms and dragging her towards the royals.

 _Yay, some action! Love that scene of Orm taking out the sub! And some romance is coming up soon, I promise ;)_

 _Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)_


	10. Chapter Eight - Legends of Old

Chapter Eight - Legends of Old

"Hey!" She snapped. "Let go of me! Get off!"

"Father, what is the meaning of this?" demanded Orm.

"It was a surface attack. How do you think they knew where to attack?"

Aurelia scoffed. "You're joking, right? How could I head this attack, I didn't even know about this meeting until this morning."

"She's right, it's impossible," Orm continued to defend her.

"Impossible is a strong word," cautioned Orvax. "Use it wisely."

"Perhaps, but this is ridiculous."

"Yeah, even if I could do something like that, I would never. I mean, sure, I'm not the biggest fan of Atlantis, but I wouldn't attack you guys. Besides, the surface has a right to attack, you attacked first, with no warning! Not that they would though, cause they don't believe you exist."

"Father, that's enough, let her go-"

"You are not king yet, boy," hissed Orvax with sudden venom. "Learn your place!"

Orm visibly flinched. "I'm sorry, Father. Forgive me. But please, let her go."

With a brief nod from the king the guards did so, though Orvax continued to eye her. "I'll be keeping close watch on you, _human_."

Orm still looked shaken from being snapped at. "My apologies, Aurelia."

With everyone mostly recovered, the group returned to the palace.

"Orm-" Aurelia tried to push her way to the front of the crowd. "Stop, please. Now can we discuss the whole attack-on-the-surface thing?"

"Now isn't a good time, I'm afraid. We must talk business now that we are in an alliance."

"Don't do this, please. You can't just attack the surface-"

"They just attacked us."

"Did they?"

He sighed. "I promise we'll talk after this meeting."

"Promise?"

"Yes. You have my word."

She nodded.

"I'm sorry, but that is the best I can do at the moment."

Large, stone, double-doors slamming in her face and rippling the water around her were her answer.

That attack seemed coincidental, almost. Too perfect in timing and place.

That hadn't been a surface attack, and she was going to prove it.

* * *

That evening, with the alliance meeting still going on, Mera came and found Aurelia. "Come with me."

"Where are we going?"

"Shh." Mera lowered her voice. "Safe-house."

"Okay..."

"Just follow me, and be quiet."

"Okay..." She did as she was told, and followed Mera out of the palace and down to some old ruins.

"Here we are." Mera swam towards a sunken ship.

"And where is 'here'?"

"Safe-house." They stepped through a large hole in the ship's side. Immediately, they were out of the water and 'on land'.

"What's this?"

"We use this air pocket as an extra layer of precaution," Mera explained. "Only highborns can breath air as well as water."

"Plus, it keeps the animals out, they can get kind of messy." Aurelia jumped - Vulko and Aria were already inside the ship. Vulko picked up a fish that had found its way into the air pocket, flinging it by the tail back into the water, where it promptly swam away.

"What's all this about?" Aurelia asked. "Secret meeting of our own? Oh wait, let me guess: the 'surface' attack." She made air quotations. "I honestly don't know anything about how or why that happened."

"We know. But now Orm will have his war."

"Well, he started it. He attacked first."

"That wasn't an attack. What Orm did to your surface world was merely a warning," said Vulko.

"Well it was a pretty intense warning. Didn't seem like much of one to me."

"He got his point across."

"Still, it was unprovoked."

"Not exactly. The Atlantean animosity towards the surface has been brewing for centuries," Aria explained. "Only now is someone acting upon that."

"Yes, and now Xebel sides with Atlantis, giving Orm a fleet big enough to force the other two kingdoms to join him."

"It seemed like your father wasn't very convinced of Orm's plans," Aurelia told Mera.

"He wasn't, until Orm's show of leadership and action."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that. I went back to the Old City afterwards, to the attack site. There was no one aboard that sub, no one directing it. Which means someone sent it straight to us, knew we were meeting, when and where. And it's highly unlikely that it was surface dwellers, I mean they don't even believe in Atlantis, they think it's a fairytale. It doesn't make sense."

"Are you saying the attack was staged?" said Mera.

"Maybe." Aurelia nodded. "Orm really wanted your father's loyalty, and Nereus wasn't convinced until Orm took out the sub. And old Orvax seemed way to calm and quiet the whole time."

"So you think Orm set it up?"

"Maybe. Orvax seems more likely, though. Test his son, while putting everyone else at risk like he doesn't give a damn, which he probably doesn't."

"The shot was aimed towards you." Aria added.

"If he killed me in the process, well, not like he would have minded all that much." Aurelia shrugged.

"Well, whether or not it was staged, it achieved what Orm and Orvax want: war. We're running out of time - if we are going to prevent this war before it is underway, you must dethrone him now," Vulko told Aurelia firmly.

"How many times do I have to tell you?! I don't want to be Queen!" She threw up her arms in exasperation.

"You don't understand," said Mera.

"So you've told me."

"We cannot under any circumstances let Orm become Ocean Master-" Mera rolled her eyes when Aurelia's lips twitched up into a grin.

"Oh come on, it sounds kind of ridiculous, doesn't it?" She turned back to Vulko and Aria, now feeling slightly panicked. "I'm from the surface - you've seen how the people here treat me. No one will take me seriously-"

"Like how you don't take us seriously," put-in Mera.

" I wouldn't even know where to begin."

"By winning the hearts and minds of the people," Vulko told her as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"And how do you expect me to do that?"

"With your obvious charm," sneered Mera.

"You need to prove to them that you _are_ worthy," Vulko continued. "And you will need to retrieve this-" He unrolled a scroll out onto the table. On it was a faded sketch of a trident.

"Already got one of those." Aurelia jerked her thumb back towards her mother's trident, which she took to bringing along just in case, especially with Orvax 'keeping a close eye on her'.

"Not like this one you don't." Vulko smirked.

"Okay, and what's so special about this one?" Aurelia asked. Mera scoffed. "What? I don't know a lot about Atlantis, okay."

"Obviously not."

"This is the great Lost Trident of Atlan, the first ruler of Atlantis."

"Oh good, more stories."

"You know it?"

"Yeah, my mom told it to me a long time ago. It's one of my few memories of her."

"Then you know the legend: the trident was forged by the greatest weapons masters in history, crafted from Posidon's steel. The legend says the trident was imbued with the power to command the sea-"

"So it's magic too?"

"Yes, it is."

"What happened to it?"

"Stop interrupting and he'll tell you," muttered Mera.

"To know that, you have to go back to a time before the Great Fall, when King Atlan ruled over all there was, when the kingdoms of Atlantis were one. It was a time of great prosperity and technological advancement. We had unlocked the secret of unlimited energy at a time when the rest of the world still thought the Earth was flat. But we became too ambitious, too hungry for power - much like the rulers today. The ocean swallowed us, and Atlantis sank. But the very power that collapsed our civilization also paved the way for our future. It gave us the ability to breathe underwater, and so we evolved. Others regressed, became savage, and King Atlan lived out the remainder of his days in self-imposed exile. Neither he, nor the trident, were ever seen again."

"Well hidden."

"Yes."

"Well, story-time has been great, but I have to go meet Orm. He promised we could talk."

"Aurelia-"

"Stop trying to shove all this on me! I told you I was coming to visit by request of the king. I did not say I would secretly plot against him, and take control with some magical trident. I did not agree to this."

"Orvax is looking for it, he has our archaeological teams searching far and wide for it."

"You guys have archaeological teams? Cool."

"Yes, and we have something he doesn't: it's an ancient recording dating back to the First Dynasty. Based on these markings, I believe it contains Atlan's final message and the whereabouts of the sacred trident."

"Who would his final message be to?"

"To his people, the real heart and soul of Atlantis."

"So what's it say?"

"We don't know, the technology's too old," said Mera.

"Of course it is."

"The cylinder bears the markings of the Deserter Kingdom." Aria ran her finger along the edge. "You must take it there and retrieve the message. The clue to Atlan's final resting place is inside of this."

Aurelia reached out to take the cylinder. Mera jumped in. "Perhaps I'll hang onto this."

"Yeah, yeah, that's probably best."

"Especially since you're going on a date with Orm."

"It's not a date."

Mera shrugged. "If you say so."

 _Big reveal in the next chapter! ;) so excited!_

 _Haha, Mera's already so done with Aurelia!_ _Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)_


	11. Chapter Nine - When We Were Young

Chapter Nine - When We Were Young

Aurelia swam around her room, pacing back and forth, suddenly feeling a little nervous to meet with Orm. Aria had ventured back to the palace with her.

"Orvax abuses Orm, doesn't he." A statement - she didn't need to ask the question. It was already clear.

Aria didn't answer for a moment. Finally, she said, "He's very harsh with him, yes."

Aurelia shook her head and looked to the ground. "Makes me sick." Having such a loving, caring father, she couldn't imagine any different.

"With his mother here, it was less, but still present. Now only time will tell how much of his father's influence Orm has gained. You'd better go and meet him."

Aurelia nodded. "In a minute." She held her mother's necklace, clasping the pendant tightly in her hand. Then, taking a deep breath, she got up and headed out to meet Orm. Time to talk business and try to prevent a war.

* * *

David Kane was sitting atop the stolen stealth ship with his father's dagger in-hand when a glow from the water below signaled the arrival of a visitor.

David scoffed when a group of guards emerged from the ship, producing a water-hologram of the prince, his contact. "You know, a real businessman would meet in person."

" _I have been in meetings over an alliance all day. And by meeting with you, Surface Dweller, I'm going against my beliefs, being insincere."_

"So you've made clear."

 _"That submarine was barely operational."_

"But it served it's purpose," defended David. "One of your kind intervened. The half-breed-"

 _"Do not speak of her that way!"_

"I don't take orders from you! She killed my father!"

Orm's jaw visibly clenched. " _Our transaction has ended."_ One of the guards produced a bag, dropping it at David's feet. Gold coins spilled out.

"Keep the money," he spat back. "I want Aquawoman. I won't stop chasing after her just cause you've got a crush."

 _"Harm Aurelia, and our deal is off."_ With that, the hologram faded into a puddle and the guards departed, leaving David once again alone in the middle of the sea _._

* * *

"Sorry I'm late," Orm apologized when he met Aurelia outside the meeting hall. "Business."

"Yeah, they're keeping you busy."

"Always."

"Don't strain yourself."

"May already be too late for that." He put on a smile. "Come, I've arranged a place for us to meet."

"Oh, okay-" She swam alongside him in comfortable silence down into the ruins, over to a fairly intact sunken ship, like Mera's 'safe-house'.

He led her up onto the deck where two table place-settings had been arranged, a platter of snacks between them, and little jellyfish floating above like colourful, bioluminescent lanterns.

"Wow," Aurelia marveled. "You sure went all out."

He smiled at her obvious surprise and appreciation. "Do you remember this place?"

She thought for a moment, the memories slowly returning. "We used to play here as children."

"Yes, we did. We would swim through here, playing pirates, searching for treasures, hiding behind the pillars and jumping out to scare each other."

"Yeah, I remember. It's vague, but it's there."

"I loved it when you visited. I had no other friends my age. I met Mera a few times, but we never really connected. Not like you and I did. We were best friends."

It was difficult, when he could remember it so well and obviously so fondly, while she was trying to piece those few memories she had together.

"Do you really want this? War with the surface? The death toll will be huge." Time to discuss the current issue - that was why they were here.

"They pollute our waters, treat them like they're theirs. They hunt and kill our animals." He paused before continuing. "And they killed my mother."

"What?"

He looked down and nodded. "According to our guards, she was swimming too close to the surface and they killed her. She was too curious."

"But-" She didn't want to believe it. Instead, she said, "I'm sorry."

"Thank you." Orm nodded. "No, I don't want war. I know the cost will be great. But I want justice, and the surface dwellers must pay for their crimes."

"Okay, I don't entirely disagree that they're responsible for a lot of crap happening to the ocean, but I don't think this is the way to go about it."

"This is the only way. It's time we sent them a message they'll hear."

"Well, I hope you know that I'm not gonna stop pressuring you to rethink this."

He chuckled a little. "I know. You have the stubbornness of any good ruler. You'll make a wonderful Queen, Aurelia."

She scoffed. "Thanks, but, not planning on it. I have noooo interest in being Queen."

"Well, maybe not yet, but in time, perhaps. Of course, with our betrothal, you'll have time to prepare."

She blinked. "What?"

"Our betrothal, our marriage arrangement."

She blinked again. "Sorry?"

"You and I will become King and Queen eventually."

There was a pause before she shot up out of her seat, bumping the table setting and startling Orm. "Excuse me? We're getting married?! Since when?!"

Now Orm was slowly and what appeared to be cautiously getting to his feet. "The King and Queen were supposed to have an heir. That is how it has always been. But you and I, we are two heirs, separately, one from the king, and one from the queen, who were supposed to have an heir together, but didn't. We complicate the situation. That being said, we thought it was the best option-"

"We? Who's we?! And the best option for who?!"

"The council-"

"The council?"

"Yes..."

"So you were thinking this whole time that I came here with the intention of marrying you?"

"Only you didn't." He didn't hide his disappointment.

"No! I didn't! I had no, no idea..." Her mind was like a whirlpool. "I don't want to get married - at least not right now. And not to some guy I barely know."

Now he looked hurt. "We were friends."

"Yeah, _were_. Sorry if I don't remember most of it. I was younger than you." Now she ran her hands through her hair. What the hell?

"I gotta go-"

"Aurelia, wait, please-"

"I've gotta go-" With that, she sped off, leaving only a trail of bubbles and a heartbroken prince in her wake.

 _Plot twist? ;) This certainly complicates things!_

 _And yes, Atlanna's necklace is a new addition (I'll have to go back and add it into earlier chapters). I just got an Atlantis symbol necklace, so I thought it would be neat if Atlanna had one and gave it to Aurelia before she left. Even though Aurelia isn't a fan of Atlantis, it's something to remember her mother by._

 _Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)_


	12. Chapter Ten - Betrayed and Betrothed

Chapter Ten - Betrayed and Betrothed

"You two have a shit ton of explaining to do! Right now!" Minutes after fleeing her meeting with Orm, her head literally spinning, Aurelia now stood in Vulko and Aria's chambers, demanding a response from the two now startled advisers.

She had relayed her conversation with Orm to them and the big reveal of the 'B' word.

"Betrothal. Engagement. Marriage. Kind of a big deal, yeah? Don't you think? Wouldn't you say?" Vulko and Aria said nothing but exchanged a glance, both wringing their hands. Aurelia stood before them, fuming, arms crossed, waiting for an explanation. "Well?"

"Betrothal in royal blood is a tradition that goes back centuries," Vulko was the first to speak. He tried to explain. "However, when both the queen and king had children separately, that threw a major wrinkle in the tradition. So it was resolved that their children, you and Orm, would be betrothed, that seemed like the simplest and smartest solution. Orvax never honoured yours."

 _Of course he didn't. Huh, for once me and the asshole king agree on something! Who'd have guessed?! And I'd like to speak to whoever thought it the 'simplest' and 'smartest' decision. I'd like to give them a piece of my mind!_ "Well his son seems to have other plans." She turned to Aria. "So, my first night here, when you were talking about being adviser to the Queen, and when Orm got married you would assist whoever he married, you were talking about _me?_ Alluding to us?"

"Yes. Aurelia, I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, but you were already so overwhelmed by being back in Atlantis, it just wasn't the right time."

"And now is?!"

"No, not exactly..."

"Yeah, 'not exactly' is right."

"Orm is really the only one here to have honoured it."

"Yeah, and he seems quite confident in it. I did not come here to fight him _or_ marry him. I feel so betrayed, I hope you know that." With that, she stormed from the room, slamming the already heavy door behind her.

"Well, that was a disaster," remarked Vulko following a stunned moment of silence after Aurelia's dramatic exit.

"Oh, the poor girl," sighed Aria. "She's under so much pressure." She paused before continuing. "When are you planning on telling her about Atlanna?"

Vulko sighed. "I don't know, My Love. I've been waiting for the right time. But, with this, I don't think there is a right time."

* * *

"Aurelia?" Orm was knocking at her chamber door. "Can we please talk?" A pause, nothing. "Please?"

"About what? Future plans? Wedding plans? What sort of flowers you want for the ceremony? The guest list?"

She heard him sigh. "I understand that you're surprised. I didn't mean to lay that all on you. I thought you knew."

"Well, no, no I didn't. Cause no one saw fit to tell me!" she called through the heavy sealed door. "No one decided to tell me that someone else was arranging my life for me!"

"You're upset-"

"Oh, am I? You know, it all makes sense now. You being so nice to me, so accepting, trying to charm me. All because you thought I was going to be your Queen one day. Unbelievable."

"No! I did all those things because I care, not because of the arrangement."

"Whatever."

"Aurelia, please, let me explain-"

"How early on were those plans made for us?"

"Quite early on, after your mother was found and it was discovered that she had a child."

"I thought we were childhood friends."

"We were."

"But also fiances?" Childhood fiances? That was messed up.

"Yes."

"Jesus..." This sounded so five-hundred years ago. Betrothal? Arranged marriage? Kings and Queens? I mean, come on! And if the King and Queen were expected to have an heir, that would mean she and Orm would have to-

No, don't think about that. That would only be if they went through with this whole arranged marriage thing, which they were _not_ going to do. It wasn't like it was going to happen, any of it. Not if she had anything to say or do about it, that was for sure.

Orm sighed again, still on the other side of the door. "Aurelia, I'm sorry-"

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." _I just want to get out of here._

But she couldn't. Not with war on the horizon, and now this stupid marriage arrangement distracting her.

Once again she held her mother's necklace, pressing the pendant to her lips. She felt so conflicted. "What do I do, Mom?"

* * *

This time, it was Aurelia who called a secret meeting in the safe-house safe-ship.

"Aurelia, what's this about? Is it about earlier?" asked Vulko when the three arrived.

"What? My betrothal to the prince and future king? No, it's not actually, but I'm still open to talk more about that. I'm still pissed off about that, by the way." Mera's jaw had dropped open and it looked as though she was about to start firing questions at them, but Aurelia held up a hand for her to be silent before she could. "No, I want to go back to that 'winning the people over, the legend, the magical trident', blah blah blah. That fun stuff." Now she turned to Mera. "You have the thing?"

The redhead raised her eyebrows in response. "The _thing_?"

"The cylinder thing? That leads to the magical trident thing? For the super-secret mission."

Now she understood. "Yes, I have it tucked away safely. Why?"

"Cause I'm in. I'll do it."

 _She's in! ;) Let the quest begin! Since this chapter was a bit shorter, I'll try and update quickly!_

 _Also, honestly, we're nearing the end of Book One! Probably a few more chapters and then right onto Book Two! :D_

 _Thank you so much for reading, as always, and I hope you enjoyed! :)_


	13. Chapter Eleven - Ocean of Sand

Chapter Eleven - Ocean of Sand

It was Mera who devised a plan of escape for the two of them. They would escape via the main bridge, slipping out through the cover of the traffic provided by the sea creatures and ships (people usually didn't travel across the bridge by just swimming). Should they be caught, they would explain that Princess Mera was showing Aurelia around the kingdom. It was risky, but necessary.

They wore cloaks for further cover, especially Mera's striking and recognizable red hair. Mera tried to get Aurelia to wear a wetsuit to 'fit in better', but Aurelia remained stubborn and gave her a firm 'no.' Besides, they were going on land and she would just have to change anyway.

Once at the bridge, having left the main city centre successfully, the two waited for some oncoming traffic. Aurelia put her communication ability to good use and called over some sea creatures, who surrounded the two women protectively, helping guide them across the bridge and out of sight.

Finally, she was out of Atlantis and heading back on land.

"So, where to now?"

Mera ran her fingers over the engraved markings decorating the cylinder. "To the Ocean of Sand your people call the Sahara."

* * *

After one long swim, the two finally arrived at their destination. They were able to find some clothes and a small airbase where they hired a pilot to take them across the desert. They weren't exactly sure where they were going yet, however, Mera had a shell-shaped device, which she said would lead them there. Basically a high-tech compass or GPS.

"It'll do, but I don't usually get paid in pirate treasure," the pilot said when Aurelia handed him a handful of gold coins.

"Whew, is it always so hot on the surface." Mera was fanning herself.

"Depends on where you are," Aurelia told her. "In the desert? Yeah, pretty hot."

Mera closed her eyes and exhaled a heavy breath, hand on her stomach.

"Hey, you okay?" Aurelia sat down across from her.

"I've just never been so high up before." Mera cast a wary glance out the window, before her gaze snapped back to the other woman.

"Don't worry, people get airsick all the time."

"I've also never been so far from home."

"You Atlanteans sure don't get out much, do you? Well, hopefully this whole mess will be over quick, and we'll be on our merry ways." She folded her hands behind her head and leaned back.

Now Mera scoffed. "You really don't realize how much is at stake here, do you?"

"Well I know how much is at stake for me and my home."

"Well those are the least of your worries right now-" Mera became silent when Aurelia shot her a death glare.

The plane hit some turbulence then and for a moment Aurelia thought Mera might vomit. "Distract me from this. Tell me something." Mera squeezed her eyes shut.

"Okay..."

"Like your betrothal to Orm." Now Mera smirked.

"That's not what I was thinking of, but, fair enough. I'd be curious too." Aurelia sighed. "Well, apparently, we've been betrothed since childhood. Something to do with us both being heirs and 'complicating things', and this seemed to be the easiest option, though I'm not sure for who."

"Betrothal is Atlantean tradition."

"So I've been told. What about you? Any cute Atlantean's catch your eye?" She really just wanted to move the conversation away from the 'B' word - and Orm in general.

Mera rolled her eyes. "No."

"I should introduce you to my cousin, I think you two would get along. He likes the ocean, and redheads."

"Well, as a princess I'll be expected to marry royal Atlantean blood."

Aurelia fake gagged. "Know what I'd do? I'd say 'screw that!' and move on." _Which is what I'm basically doing now..._

"And do what?"

Aurelia shrugged. "Do what I want. And if I got married, it would be for love." _Like Mom and Dad..._

"My duty is not to love. It is to my family and my nation."

"Well, I mean, I've got duties to my family and home too, but love should factor in there."

"So, on the surface, you don't have betrothal?"

"Not really, not anymore. It's mostly a thing of the past."

"So you can just marry whoever you want?"

"Pretty much."

Mera was obviously surprised by this. "That was never really an option for me."

Now Aurelia was the surprised one. "We obviously grew up in very different worlds, with very different expectations.."

"Yes, we did."

* * *

Aurelia awoke to an annoying beeping with her face squished against the metal side of the plane.

"We're here!" Mera's expression was bright and she was staring at the blinking shell in her hand. She had obviously overcome and/or forgotten her airsickness.

"Hey, anywhere to land around here?" Aurelia called to the pilot groggily.

"No, sorry! Nothin' but desert for hundreds of kilometers!"

"There's nothing," Aurelia said.

"You're wrong-" Mera was up on her feet and pulling the hatch open, and before Aurelia could even utter anything else, she jumped.

Aurelia leapt to her feet, running to the hatch to watch Mera's bright hair sailing towards the golden landscape.

"What - she didn't have a parachute!" cried the pilot in obvious panic.

"Redheads! Gotta love them! Thanks again, Mate! WHOOOO!" With that, Aurelia jumped too.

"WHOOOOO HOOOO - _AHHHHHH!_ " _CRASH!_ With a burst of sand, both women struck the ground, rolling down the dunes, shaking sand from their hair and clothes and coughing up a storm.

"Ah, you're crazier than I thought," laughed Aurelia, lying in the sand.

But Mera paid her no attention, and was already back on her feet again, eyes trained on her device.

Aurelia in tow, Mera led the way, trekking across the sandy landscape. But as far as Aurelia could tell, the pilot had been right, that was all there was out here: sand. Sand, sand, and even more sand.

"This used to be the location of the Deserter Kingdom," Mera explained as they walked.

"Why'd they desert?" asked Aurelia. "Cause they were fed up with the royal Atlanteans too?"

Mera ignored her. "When the water dried up, they perished along with it."

"Perished? Great."

"We're getting close now," Mera assured her - which she had been continually doing this whole time.

"Oh yeah, close to what? Dying of thirst?"

"Close to getting punched in the face!" Mera whirled around suddenly, fist raised.

"Listen, Fight Club. I know you're new to how things work up here, but why don't you look around: we are lost. You see that? Hey, what is that?" She squinted. "Nada! Nothing! This is a wasteland."

Mera scoffed and kept walking. "You're the one who calls this wasteland a home."

"This isn't my home! It's not like the whole surface world looks like this."

"Oh no, of course not, my mistake. You also have disgusting cities and sewers that empty out into our oceans, and whole mountains made out of trash. Oh, and let's not forget you have great factories that do nothing but belch out filth and melt ice caps, and-"

"Okay, okay, point taken." Aurelia scurried around so she was in front of Mera. "Listen, yeah, we've got some idiots running the show, but we've got some good stuff too. Like big green forests and mountains and beautiful lakes - you'd love them they're like little baby oceans. I'll show you them sometime."

Aurelia thought the lake thing was for sure a win, but Mera's eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to provoke me?"

"I'm just saying you can't judge a place you've never been to or seen before."

"Well, speak for yourself. You've judged Atlantis on far less." Mera scoffed and stomped ahead again, continuing her trek.

Aurelia let out a frustrated groan before turning and continuing to follow, only to be met by the same irritating beeping of Mera's device. "Oh, no, no, no, will you just stop it with that thing! No!" She swatted it out of the other woman's hand, it plopping to the sand below at their feet. "Your stupid Atlantean GPS just told you to jump out of an airplane over the desert and now we are stranded so, thanks a lot."

"Well I'm not the person to talk to if you have issues with our technology. That would be your betrothed."

"Don't call him that!"

"Well he is!"

"He is not! And don't change the subject! Which one of us is from the surface world?"

"You have no idea where we're going!"

"Well neither do you, apparently! The point is, we are lost - AHHHHH!"

Aurelia's startled cry grew faint and echoed as the sand at her feet fell away, and the ground swallowed her whole.

"Exactly where it said it would be." Mera scooped up the device and brushed it off. "If you're really the next true queen we are doomed." With a sigh, she jumped.

 _Haha, love their arguing! We're almost finished, a couple chapters left!_

 _Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)_


	14. Chapter Twelve - Not Legends Anymore

Chapter Eleven - Not Legends Anymore

"Whoa! Ahhh!" Following her jump, Mera found herself sliding rapidly, down, down, down through a sandy tunnel. She was sliding so fast she wondered if the tunnel would ever end.

It soon did, and she shot off the edge of it, flying through the air and landing hard on a sandy ledge below. As she recovered, she scanned the area; Aurelia was nowhere in sight.

"Aurelia?" Mera called, her voice echoing through the myriad of tunnels. "Aurelia?!"

"Down here!" Mera jumped at the voice directly below her, seeing that the other woman must have flown right off the ledge, for she was clinging to the edge of it.

With a groan, she hauled herself onto the ledge beside Mera. "Look what I found."

Mera gawked. "What _you_ found?"

"Yeah." Aurelia gave her best Aurelia Curry shit-eating grin.

"You mean what me and my 'stupid Atlantean GPS' found!" The redhead huffed and got to her feet, brushing herself off.

"Would you check out this place-" Aurelia gazed around, impressed. "It's bad-ass!" Her words echoed around them a few times before finally fading. "Well, the so-called 'Kingdom of the Deserters' certainly looks deserted."

"This architecture is ancient," agreed Mera, also gazing around in wonder.

Aurelia kicked down a rock in their path and they hopped down into a sprawling room.

"This is the Hall of Armour," Mera explained.

"Damn."

"Where the legends say Atlan's trident was forged."

"Uh, I don't think they're legends anymore," said Aurelia. "Look."

Mera joined her where she stood overlooking a cracked slab of stone, engraved with a trident.

"Oh my Poseidon!" cried Mera. She fell to her knees in awe. "It's real!" She gingerly reached out to touch the stone.

"Gotta admit, that's pretty cool," agreed Aurelia. "Well, at least now we know what the trident looks like."

Mera looked up at her with the biggest grin on her face, before jumping to her feet and giving an excited squeal, followed by an adorably excited dance. "I can't believe it! Vulko was right - it's real!" A hand fell to her mouth, and for a moment Aurelia thought she might burst into tears she was so happy.

"There's more." Both women walked to the front of the room where a round metal structure sat, covered in a thick layer of dust, and looked out of place. At the top, there was an engraving, one that matched the shape of the cylinder. The women exchanged a glance and nod. This was it.

"Huh, the ancients really could build some epic stuff," remarked Aurelia.

Mera brushed off the surface, put the cylinder in place, and...

Nothing.

"Huh." Mera sighed, confused.

"Well, that was anti-climactic."

"Nothing."

"Yeah, of course it's not working. It's been sitting here collecting dust since before the Sahara was a desert." All the excitement was gone.

"Since before the Sahara was a desert," Mera repeated.

"Yeah, thank you for repeating what I just said."

"It's completely dried out!" Aurelia shrugged. Mera sighed. "You do your best thinking when you're not thinking at all."

"Uh, thank you?"

"Hold still-" Mera held up her hand.

"Uh, hey, what are you doing?" Aurelia asked, going cross-eyed as Mera held her hand hovering in front of Aurelia's face.

"It needs water, and you're the closest source. Now hold still." Aurelia watched as Mera closed her eyes in concentration, her hand beginning to glow as she activated her hydrokinesis power. Moments later a single droplet of water levitated off Aurelia's forehead and into the air, Mera carefully dropping it on the ancient machine.

Turned out that one drop was all it needed, for it immediately began to glow with a turquoise light and the gears began to turn, up and running, remarkably well for something so ancient.

Aurelia chuckled. "Show off. You could have just peed on it." Mera shot her a disgusted look. "What? It's true. That's what I would have thought of first."

"Remind me to teach you how to use your hydrokinesis as soon as we return to Atlantis."

The cylinder descended into the machine as an image appeared of an elderly man with white hair and a beard in gold and green armour holding a lavish gold trident

"King Atlan!" cried Mera. "And the trident!"

"Huh, he's older than I pictured," remarked Aurelia.

"Shhh! It's his message-"

" _In this trident resides the power of Atlantis. In the wrong hands, it would bring destruction, but, in the hands of the true heir, it would untie all of our kingdoms, above and below. If you seek my power, you must prove your worth. Journey beyond the end of the world to the Hidden Sea. Look inside the bottle for the charted path. Only in the hands of the true ruler can they truly see."_

On that cryptic note, the image disappeared, and the machine shut down, the cylinder popping back out.

"Huh," said Aurelia.

"King Atlan's final message to his people," breathed Mera. She retrieved the cylinder again. "We can't let Orm or Orvax find this." Aurelia nodded in agreement.

Without another thought, Mera tossed the cylinder to the ground with an echoing _smash!_

"Ah, wait-" Aurelia watched as it was smashed into a million little pieces. Too late. "UGH!"

"What?"

"Shouldn't we have written it down first?"

"I memorized it."

"Oh." _Show off._

"Didn't you?"

"Oh, yeah..."

"Okay. What did he say?" Mera challenged, arms crossed and eyebrows raised, a playful smirk on her lips.

"He said: something, something, trident."

"You're hilarious."

"Why, thank you."

Both jumped then when the floor beneath them split to reveal a bottle.

Aurelia scooped it up. "'Look inside the bottle for the charted path'," she quoted. "See, I did memorize some."

Mera rolled her eyes, but was smiling. "What is it?" She stepped closer to see the bottle.

"So, we've got the old 'message in a bottle' trick, huh? Classic. Hey, uh, is the machine leaking?" Aurelia asked, noticing a trickle of water accumulating at their feet.

"That's not coming from the machine -"

In a sudden burst, water sprayed into the hall, smashing down the rock columns. Both women were sucked into a rush of water, which mixed with the heavy sand, creating a thick, muddy mess.

Dazed and disoriented, and now caked with muck, they could just make out the towering figures of armed guards in high-tech Atlantean armour.

The Deserter Kingdom had been flooded once again.

 _Was hoping to update sooner but had a busy weekend visiting family! But, here we are, with a suspenseful ending! ;)_

 _Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :) See you for the last chapter!_


	15. Chapter Thirteen - Painful Truths

Chapter Thirteen - Painful Truths

Aurelia awoke hacking up water and sand, once again in the great hall before the king and prince, and most of Atlantis.

Beside her, Mera was in a very similar state.

"W-what happened?" Aurelia slurred.

"Aurelia, they're tracking you."

"What?"

"They were tracking you-" Mera nodded to Aurelia's wrist.

She looked down. Orm's mother's bracelet was staring her in the face. "You son of a bitch-" In one swift movement she slipped it off, it falling to the floor, and raised her fist above it-

"NO!" Orm's cry came too late.

Her fist came down upon the piece of jewelry, crushing it with one blow.

When Aurelia looked up, she was met by the devastated look of the prince as he stared at the shards that had just seconds ago been his mother's bracelet.

He gently and with great care scooped up the pieces. "This was my mother's bracelet. I trusted you with it."

"And I trusted you. And you were tracking me!"

"You see, I knew she couldn't be trusted," spoke-up Orvax.

But Aurelia and Orm were too busy shouting at each other to pay the king any attention.

"Spoiled brat!" she spat.

"Dirty, rotten half-breed," he shot back.

That hurt, she felt it strike in her chest like a wound.

"Enough." Orvax rose to his feet. "You saved me a lot of work. Because of you I am now one step closer to recovering Atlan's trident." He held up the bottle she and Mera had found in the Deserter Kingdom, giving a smug grin.

"You don't deserve it. I hope you never find it! I don't care though, I just want out of here. I hate it here!"

"My banishing you and forbidding you to return failed before."

"I'll leave - forever. But first, I want to see my mother."

The silence following her request was broken by the chuckle of the king. "Oh, you foolish girl. So hopeful. Your mother is dead."

If Orm's words had hurt, these words were agonizing. For years, unlike her father's ability to see the truth, part of her had accepted that her mother wouldn't be returning to them. But hearing it confirmed with such certainty and smugness knocked her breath from her body and left her feeling limp and frail.

"Atlanna was a deserter, and closely associated herself with the surface dwellers. She abandoned her home, people, and duty."

"Duty? Cause she wouldn't marry you? So you killed her?"

"She had to pay for her crimes. She was sacrificed to the Trench, left to the mercy of the savage creatures there."

The room spun before everything became clear in striking focus - all she knew was rage.

She began heaving heavy breaths, gritting her teeth, eyes narrowed. With a roar, she dove forward. Orvax seemed strangely calm despite her attack, like he had anticipated it, and simply waved his trident towards her.

The next thing she knew, she was struck by a burst of water and swallowed up by a whirlpool.

* * *

Both she and her mother's trident shot up from the depths, landing hard on the sand of one of Amnesty Bay's beaches. She coughed up more water, throat and chest burning, gripping the trident in a firm grip, sensing a presence behind her.

AHHHH!" With a scream, in one swift motion, she spun around and launched the trident behind her.

Vulko, quick as ever, swerved out of the way and caught the weapon sent his way in fury. Aria gave a startled cry.

Aurelia was still shaking with rage. "There anything else you're hiding from me? Cause I want to know it now."

"Aurelia-"

"How dare you! How dare! You have such nerve! How could you even look me in the eyes all these years knowing full well that I'm betrothed to that asshole and that my mother is dead?! You told me she was exiled! You lying bastard!"

"She was. To the Trench. But anyone who has been cast out and sent there has never returned."

"Then don't say 'exiled'! Just say 'dead'! Don't get my hopes up! Mine, or my fathers!" She looked to Aria. "Even you, her adviser and friend? How could you?"

"How were we supposed to tell you that your mother would never be returning to you? How could we destroy that hope?"

Tears were threatening to fall, but she fought back against them. "Better than giving me false hope. Any hope at all." She pushed past them. Vulko held out the trident to her, but she refused. "Get that thing out of my sight. And for the last time: leave me the hell alone."

* * *

It was dawn in Amnesty Bay. Aurelia knew for certain that a certain lighthouse keeper would be waiting on the docks watching the sunrise, waiting for his beloved to return to him. She now also knew that Atlanna never would.

Aurelia was so upset and so homesick that even the heart-wrenching and heartbreaking sight of her father waiting for the woman he loved to come back when she couldn't was so familiar it still made her smile.

"Hey!" Tom's solemn face lit up when he saw her.

"Dad-" Moments later she was in his arms, face buried in his shoulder, breathing in his familiar scent. She never wanted to let go.

"Hey, Kiddo - you're back. You okay?"

She shook her head awkwardly as she was still pressed against him. "No."

"Hey, what happened?" Tom pulled away and brushed the hair from her face.

"It was awful. I hate them all so much." Thank god she was out of that terrible place.

"Did they hurt you?"

"No." Such a lie.

"You want to talk about it?"

"No, I just want to go home."

"Well, we can do that." Tom put an arm around her and led her back to the lighthouse. He didn't say anything about cutting his usual morning sunrise-watch short that day.

Once back home, Tom put on some coffee and began to fry some eggs on the stove while Aurelia curled up on the couch.

Her dad had the TV on, but she wasn't paying any attention. Her eyes were instead locked on the framed family photograph sitting on the side-table - the original frame had been cracked when the Atlanteans attacked to take her mother away all those years ago - but Tom had preserved the photo. It was of him, Atlanna, and baby Aurelia, snuggled together on the couch - together as a family.

"Ah, I love that photo," Tom sighed, leaning against the doorway and smiling fondly and longingly.

Aurelia couldn't tell him. Not yet. "Yeah, me too."

"When she comes back, I want to recreate it, then put the two photos side-by-side. Then and now."

Then and now.

Back in the kitchen, the coffee pot beeped, and Tom went to tend to it. While he was gone, and checking to make sure he couldn't see, she, still wrapped tightly in her favourite blanket, knelt before the picture, gaze locked on her mother's smiling face.

"I'm so sorry, Mom," she whispered, feeling the tears returning and willing them not to fall. "I'm so sorry."

Part of her wanted revenge, while the other hoped she could hit her head and forget that Atlantis ever even existed. Wishful thinking.

Then she remembered the war, the whole reason she had gone there in the first place - or so she had originally thought. Oh, it would come, Orm and Orvax's war, it would come to the surface, of that she was sure. But she would be ready, for it, for them. She would be ready.

 _Let it come._

And when it did, she would show them the same mercy they had shown her mother.

 _And that's the end! :) Book one of three complete! Thank you so much for reading!_

 _I am so eager to continue that I have already started writing the next two books, so expect to see it continue soon! ;)_

 _Thank you all again so much and I hope you enjoyed! :) Please let me know what you think! Bye for now!_


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